It's all about the smiles. Just ask members of the Grand Island Lions Club. Each year, the club sponsors the Special Kids Picnic. The 57th annual event will be Wednesday, July 15, at the Island's Buffalo Launch Club.

"I'm going to miss this job; the people I've been dealing with; the community; but, on the other hand, it will be nice to attend events here and not have to deal with police issues." So summed up Lewiston Police Chief Chris Salada of his decision to retire effective July 31.

Niagara County Public Information Officer Christian W. Peck issued the following statement Thursday detailing the outcome of a two-hour-long closing conference with state employee safety investigators reviewing a complaint by the head of the local AFSCME union, William Rutland, alleging county and welfare workers had been exposed to asbestos:

Congressman Brian Higgins, co-sponsor of the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6), announced approval of the bill, which provides $8.75 billion in additional funding for National Institutes of Health and $550 million to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration supporting innovation leading to new treatments and cures.

In the wake of a study released earlier this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows a dramatic rise in heroin use and overdose deaths, the co-chairs of the Senate task force on heroin and opioid addiction are calling on the Assembly to join the Senate in passing a package of legislation that would help eradicate the heroin epidemic.

Congressman Brian Higgins and City of Lackawanna Mayor Geoff Szymanski announced a federal grant totaling $536,324 for the Lackawanna Fire Department. The funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.

The Buffalo Sabres today announced more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the team's development camp scrimmage on Friday at First Niagara Center, and the organization anticipates a record crowd in excess of 15,000 fans for the event.

Mount St. Mary's Hospital's Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine is the first center in the Niagara Falls and Buffalo area to receive full national accreditation with the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Erie Community College will offer training essential for careers inside new nanotechnology-focused companies and industries opening across Western New York with a one-semester course sequence in semiconductor manufacturing, starting in fall of 2015 at the college's north campus in Williamsville.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions will study the dangers dehydration presents for U.S. Navy divers, examining diver physiology both during and after underwater activities.

Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York is reporting sharp increase in daily calls regarding "government grants." In this scam, victims are offered access to alleged grant money, but what the scammers really want is the victim's bank account and other personal information.

The 2015 graduates of the Niagara County Community College physical therapy assistant program earned a 100 percent pass rate on the national physical therapy assistant examination. NCCC is the only college in New York with 100 percent pass rate on the national exam.

As the sun began its decent for a magnificent sunset over Lake Erie on the Fourth of July, Mark Jerge stood on the roof party deck at Templeton Landing and watched his boss, Russell J. Salvatore, personally inspect the buffet line before his more than 300 guests made their way through the four lines.

An all-star group of local musicians recently formed a band known as Dead Flowers to headline the "You Get What You Need Benefit Concert for the Food Bank of Western New York" Friday, July 10, at the Cove Seafood & Banquets, 4701 Transit Road, Depew. The concert will begin at 8 p.m.

Heart of Niagara Animal Rescue volunteers and adoptable dogs will be present at Milk-Bone's booth at the 2015 Taste of Buffalo. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. this Saturday, July 11, and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.

With interest in Niagara University's nursing programs booming, the institution is turning to one of its longtime partners to help it increase enrollment by offering additional clinical placements for accelerated students.

The Buffalo Zoo invites patrons to support the animals by buying them lunch. The attraction has an annual grocery bill exceeding $250,000 to feed more than 1,400 animal residents. During the month of July, Buffalo Zoo visitors will have the opportunity to help cover that cost and "buy the animals lunch."